I. On 8th March 2023, China acceded to the Convention on Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation of Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention"). On 7th November 2023, the Convention will enter into force between China and Croatia. The Convention will continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China and the Macao Special Administrative Region of China.
II. Starting from November 7, public documents within the scope of the Convention issued by Croatia only need to be legalised with an Apostille stamp for use in mainland China. There is no need to apply for consular authentication by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Crotia and Chinese embassy in Croatia.
III. Public documents within the scope of the Convention sent from China to Croatia for use will no longer require consular authentication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Croatian Embassy in China, but will instead require Apostille certificate. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China is the competent authority of issuing Apostille certificates for public documents issued within China. Entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign affairs bureaus of local governments in China can issue Apostille certificates for public documents issued within their respective administrative regions (see Appendix 1 for the namelist). For Apostille certificates online verification, please refer to https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/. For the procedures and requirements for applying for Apostille certificates, please refer to the China Consular Service Website(http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/) or the relevant websites of local foreign affairs bureaus.
IV. Starting from 7th November, our embassy will no longer provide consular authentication services. For documents issued by Croatia that are intended to be used in mainland China, please apply for Apostille certificate to the local municipal courts in Croatia. For specific procedures and requirements, please refer to the website of the Ministry of Justice and Administrative Affairs of Croatia(https://mpu.gov.hr/nadovjera- legalizacija-isprava/25282).
V. According to the provisions of the Convention, an Apostille certificate issued by a country is used to prove the authenticity of the signature on the public document, the identity of the signer of the document, and to confirm the authenticity of the seal on the document when necessary. Obtaining the Apostille certificate does not mean that the document will be accepted by the related Chinese institutions. Please check with related Chinese institutions in advance about their specific requirements for format, content, time limit, translation of foreign public documents.
Appendix 1: List of foreign affairs bureaus of local governments issuing Apostille certificates in China